The village of
Harmondsworth seems tranquil at first glance, however, spend a few moments here
and you will soon become aware that Heathrow Airport is only a mile or so
distant!

A church seems
to have been here since Saxon times, the village standing as it does near the
River Colne which forms the traditional border with Buckinghamshire. This
church was given by William the Conqueror to the Benedictine Abbey of Rouen in
1069. The Abbey later rebuilt the church, with the oldest extant remains being
mid-12th Century.

Around 1211
the Abbey turned the church into a Priory which became very unpopular very
quickly with the local populace due to some harsh taxing policies. In 1281 the
locals rebelled and burnt the Priory buildings down. Remodelling of the church
followed this and in 1391 the Benedictines sold to Winchester College who were
responsible for building the Great Barn which stands nearby.

Work continued
on the church with the last major work being the addition of the tower built
around 1500, although the distinctive cupola that tops it is from a later
period. As ever, the Victorians did a bit of refurbishment, but not without
merit in this instance.

A weird quirk
of legal history informs the opinion that Heathrow Airport is legally
responsible for the maintenance of the chancel. The Airport now owns land which
used to be Heathrow village which, in 1819, was assigned in lieu of tithes to
the church for maintaining the chancel.

All in all, Harmondsworth is one of the few parts of
Middlesex that still feels a bit rural and not part of the overwhelming spread
of the London suburbs.